Franciscan Health / IBCA Players of the Week (Week 10)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                Contact: Brandon Bradley, 260-580-4799
Jan. 10, 2023                        Coordinator, Player of the Week
 
County Tourney Winners Headline Week-10 of the IBCA/Franciscan Health Player of the Week Program

    With January well underway, many of Indiana’s 92 counties are hosting their county tournaments in both boys’ and girls’ basketball. Six players were selected as the Week-10 IBCA/Franciscan Health Players of the Week, one boy and one girl from each of the three districts. Of those six players, three of our Week-10 recipients were consistently strong all week in helping their high schools to their respective county tournament titles.
    Crown Point Senior A.J. Lux, Brownsburg Junior Kanon Catchings, Batesville Senior Cole Pride, Central Noble Senior Madison Vice, Zionsville Community Senior Laila Hull, and Gibson Southern Junior Chloey Graham have been selected as winners for Jan. 2-Jan. 7 in the recognition program coordinated by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association. Lux and Vice are the boys’ and girls’ winners, respectively, in District-1. Catchings takes home boys’ honors, while Hull takes home girls’ honors, in District-2. Pride is the boys’ recipient, and Graham is the girls’ recipient in District-3.
    Crown Point got started off on the right foot in Duneland Athletic Conference play last Friday night, taking care of Michigan City at home, 64-53. The Bulldogs feature stellar Senior A.J. Lux, and the 6-5 wing was on target all evening, scoring an outstanding 38 points in the contest. The Bellarmine University commit used a perfect 15-15 effort from the free throw, to go along with 10-17 shooting from the field and 3-7 from deep to achieve his scoring total. In addition, the Senior wing added six rebounds and three assists, helping the Bulldogs to get back above .500 at 6-5.
    The Central Noble Lady Cougars remain perfect on the season at 17-0, and Senior Madison Vice has been a big part of that success. Tuesday, the Lady Cougars hosted Bremen, winning by a comfortable 59-37 margin. In that game, Vice scored 25 points on 8-16 shooting, she knocked down a pair of triples, and she was 7-9 from the charity stripe, helping her to eclipse the 1000-point mark. Additionally, she contributed 11 rebounds, posting a double-double, to go along with eight assists and four steals.
    Friday evening, Central Noble traveled to Garrett for a Northeast Corner Conference game, with the Lady Cougars coming out on top once again. Vice, a 5-6 guard, was again big in success, making 7-9 shots from the field, 1-2 from deep, and 3-4 from the line, scoring 18 points in total. She also snagged five rebounds, handed out a pair of assists, and collected five steals. The Senior is committed to play at Siena Heights University next year.
    Brownsburg Junior Kanon Catchings helped the Bulldogs to three wins last week, earning them the Hendricks County Tournament crown. The Bulldogs began their week on Tuesday, easily defeating Cascade in the first round. In limited minutes, Catchings was perfect from all spots, scoring 16 points on 7-7 shooting, 1-1 from 3-point range, and 1-1 from the free throw line. He also added two rebounds, an assist, and a steal in the lopsided win.
    Friday night, Brownsburg played at Avon High School, where the Bulldogs took care of the Orioles, 61-40. Catchings continued his hot shooting, burying 7-10 shots, 1-2 from deep, and 4-4 from the line, scoring 19 points in this easy victory. The 6-7 wing added seven rebounds, two assists, and three steals to his stat line.
    Saturday, in the championship game at Danville High School, Brownsburg beat a tough Plainfield squad for the title, 69-54. The Junior wing saved his best for last, scoring 30 points for the Bulldogs, as he was 10-17 from the floor, 2-5 from outside, and 8-12 from the stripe. Catchings, already a Purdue University commit, grabbed a pair of caroms, dished out four assists, and stole the ball three times in the county title game.
    The Zionsville Lady Eagles are a perfect 17-0 and #2 in the state at the moment, with a lot of credit going to the play of Senior Laila Hull. Wednesday evening, in their first contest of the week, the Lady Eagles headed to West Lafayette, where they knocked off a nice Harrison program, 68-37. Hull was accurate, making 10-14 shots, one from deep, and one from the free throw line, scoring 22 points in the game. Hull also chipped in with six rebounds, four assists, four steals, and a pair of blocked shots.
    Friday, the Lady Eagles hosted Pike, again winning by several points. In this contest, the 6-1 Hull scored 29 points on 11-18 shooting, 3-5 from 3-point range, and a perfect 4-4 on charity tosses. The Senior forward, committed to the University of North Carolina, also added four rebounds, three steals, and a blocked shot in the convincing win.
    Batesville Senior Cole Pride helped the Bulldogs to a pair of wins last week, leading to the Ripley County tournament title. Wednesday, the Bulldogs defeated Jac-Cen-Del at South Ripley, 64-42. Pride was an impressive 12-14 from the field, 5-7 from deep, and 2-2 from the free throw line, scoring a whopping 31 points in the victory. He also contributed eight rebounds, two steals, and three blocked shots, providing some frontline defense for Batesville.
    Saturday, the Bulldogs finished their week at host South Ripley in the county championship game, and Pride was once again instrumental in the narrow, 67-64 title game win. The 6-8 post scored 18 points on 7-12 shooting, plus he was 4-6 from the charity stripe, and he posted a double-double with his 18 rebounds. Toss in three assists, a pair of steals, and three blocked shots, and he again helped in many facets of the game.
    Gibson Southern had as strong of a week as any, as the Lady Titans rattled off five consecutive wins over a six-day span, winning two games at the Gibson County Classic, as well as three Pocket Conference games. Monday morning, the Lady Titans defeated Sullivan, 66-53. Junior Chloey Graham began her week with a 23-point performance on 11-21 shooting, including a made 3-pointer, plus she added three rebounds, an assist, and five steals to the cause.
    Later that afternoon, Graham and Gibson Southern beat a good Barr-Reeve group, 48-40. In this matchup, the 5-8 wing scored 25 points, including the 1000th point of her career. In doing so, she knocked down five triples and was a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line. She also managed to grab 10 rebounds, helping her to post a double-double, plus she collected six steals in their second victory of the day.
    Tuesday, the Lady Titans’ success continued, as they traveled to Mount Vernon (Posey) for a Pocket Conference game, winning by a wide margin. The Junior wing was 6-9 from the field, 4-5 from deep, and scored 17 points in limited minutes. She added three rebounds, a steal, and a blocked shot to her stat line.
    Gibson Southern was back at it Thursday, hosting Pocket Conference rival Boonville. This time Graham and the Lady Titans won again, but by a narrower 57-46 tally. Again, the Junior came up big in the game, scoring 23 points, she was 10-16 from the field, 2-4 from long range, and she added a free toss to her total. She also stole the ball four times in the big conference win.
    Finally, the Lady Titans concluded their week on Saturday, posting their fifth win of the week, a 73-43 outcome at Pocket Conference foe Tell City. Once again, Graham was a key factor in the contest, scoring 21 points, making 9-14 shots, while posting her second double-double of the week with 10 rebounds. She also chipped in three assists and a pair of steals in success. On the week, the 5-8 Junior scored 109 points…roughly 1/10 of her current career total.
    This is the 15th season for the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Week program, but just the third season it is being presented by Franciscan Health, a corporate sponsor of the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association.
    Player of the Week winners are chosen each week from each of the IHSAA’s three districts. Girls winners will be chosen through the Monday following the IHSAA Girls State Finals. Boys winners will be chosen through the Monday following the IHSAA Boys State Finals.


2022-23 Weekly Winners

    Oct. 31-Nov. 5: District-1 girls: Nevaeh Foster, Mishawaka Marian. District-2 girls: Olivia Nickerson, Twin Lakes. District-3 girls: Kylee Edwards, Shelbyville.

    Nov. 7-Nov. 12: District-1 girls: Asia Donald, Hobart. District-2 girls: Gloria Brewer, Greencastle. District-3 girls: Juliann Woodard, Jennings County.

    Nov. 14-Nov. 19: District-1 girls: Ashlynn Brooke, Pioneer. District-2 girls: Renna Schwieterman, Jay County. District-3 girls: Lauren Foster, Indian Creek.

    Nov. 21-Nov. 26: District-1 boys: Jamie Hodges, Michigan City. District-1 girls: Kennedy Fuelling, Norwell. District-2 boys: Elhadj Diallo, Brownsburg. District-2 girls: Laila Hull, Zionsville Community. District-3 boys: Cam Craig, Switzerland County. District-3 girls: Keylee Hudson, Eastern Greene.

    Nov. 28-Dec. 3: District-1 boys: Markus Burton, Penn. District-1 girls: Ava Ziolkowski, Crown Point. District-2 boys: Divine Adeyanju, West Lafayette. District-2 girls: Adrianne Tolen, West Lafayette. District-3 boys: Jack Benter, Brownstown Central. District-3 girls: Saige Stahl, Columbus East.

    Dec. 5-Dec. 10: District-1 boys: Luke McBride, Norwell. District-1 girls: Amiyah Reynolds, South Bend Washington. District-2 boys: Landon Biegel, Oak Hill. District-2 girls: Cristen Carter, Ben Davis. District-3 boys: Trent Sisley, Heritage Hills. District-3 girls: Bailey Tabeling, Trinity Lutheran.

    Dec. 12-Dec. 17: District-1 boys: Mason Jones, Valparaiso. District-1 girls: Ally Capouch, Kouts. District-2 boys: Flory Bidunga, Kokomo. District-2 girls: Alli Harness, Carroll (Flora). District-3 boys: Joey Hart, Linton-Stockton. District-3 girls: Josie Trabel, East Central.

    Dec. 19-Dec. 31: District-1 boys: Austin Cripe, West Noble. District-1 girls: Jessa Troy, Penn. District-2 boys: Azavier Robinson, Lawrence North. District-2 girls: Meredith Tippner, Noblesville. District-3 boys: Luke Ellspermann, Evansville Memorial. District-3 girls: Emily Parker, Boonville.

    Jan. 2-Jan. 7: District-1 boys: A.J. Lux, Crown Point. District-1 girls: Madison Vice, Central Noble. District-2 boys: Kanon Catchings, Brownsburg. District-2 girls: Laila Hull, Zionsville Community. District-3 boys: Cole Pride, Batesville. District-3 girls: Chloey Graham, Gibson Southern.

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